The kid unloaded his best fastball. Pure left-handed heat, the best he could muster. Bob Weinstein's mom caught the ball with a flick of her glove and tossed it back. Standing in the driveway between two homes in Brooklyn, N.Y., Pearl Weinstein taught her young son about the duality of baseball and growing up. Pearls of wisdom, if you will. "The same lady who taught me to play baseball taught me not to quit," said Weinstein, an investment banker from Chatsworth.

Harvey and Bob Weinstein are getting the reunion they've long sought - and moviegoers could end up getting sequels to such older favorites as "Shakespeare in Love," "Swingers" and "Rounders. " The brothers' film company, Weinstein Co., has struck a production and distribution deal that reconnects them to Miramax, the company they founded in 1979 and built up with such critically acclaimed movies as "sex, lies and videotape" and "Reservoir Dogs" before selling to Walt Disney Co. in 1993.

Harvey Weinstein vowed he would return to the glory days atop the independent film business, and Sunday night he delivered on that promise. After Weinstein Co. nearly shut down last year, the New York studio's low-cost British drama "The King's Speech" took top honors at this year's Academy Awards, the first best picture victory for the movie impresario since 2002. As when "Shakespeare in Love" defeated "Saving Private Ryan" in 1999, Weinstein's movie prevailed over an early favorite from a big Hollywood studio, in this case Sony Pictures' film about Facebook, "The Social Network.

The Miramax film company's attempts to reestablish itself as a Hollywood powerhouse hit another snag with the resignation of Chairman Richard Nanula, a veteran executive who formerly held prominent posts at Walt Disney Co. and Amgen Inc. Nanula's departure Sunday came after two websites published photographs last month of a man they identified as the executive having sex with an adult-film actress. Nanula, 53, and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment. PHOTOS: Hollywood Backlot moments Miramax, founded by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 1979, produced a string of Oscar-winning films, including "Chicago" and "Shakespeare in Love.

The Miramax film company's attempts to reestablish itself as a Hollywood powerhouse hit another snag with the resignation of Chairman Richard Nanula, a veteran executive who formerly held prominent posts at Walt Disney Co. and Amgen Inc. Nanula's departure Sunday came after two websites published photographs last month of a man they identified as the executive having sex with an adult-film actress. Nanula, 53, and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment. PHOTOS: Hollywood Backlot moments Miramax, founded by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 1979, produced a string of Oscar-winning films, including "Chicago" and "Shakespeare in Love.

Walt Disney Co. is finalizing a deal to sell Michael Moore's documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" to Harvey and Bob Weinstein. In an unusual move, Disney will allow the Weinsteins, co-chairmen of its subsidiary Miramax Films -- which financed the film -- to buy the project for $5 million to $6 million, about the amount Miramax has spent on the property. "Whatever current interests Miramax has in the film would be acquired by Bob and Harvey personally," Disney spokeswoman Zenia Mucha said.

Peter Abrams, the producer of "Underclassman," says his movie was caught in the "Weinstein-Disney buzz saw." He's hardly alone. Over the next three months, Miramax Films, founded and operated by brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, will release at least 10 movies, including seven films that have been gathering dust on the studio's shelves for up to four years.

The two brothers who founded Walt Disney's Miramax Films, the leading distributor of independent films such as "Shakespeare in Love," the "Scream" series and "The Cider House Rules," have agreed to stick with Disney seven more years, the company said Thursday. Bob and Harvey Weinstein had been getting informal feelers by other studios in anticipation of their contracts expiring in two years. They sold Miramax to Disney for about $75 million in 1993.

After your article about our company appeared (Column One, "The Climbing Game," March 29), we just wanted to let you know that we have signed up for a series of Management 101 courses at a local community college. Our day now consists of: 9 a.m.: How to Get Rid of Our Type A Personalities. 10 a.m.: How to Delegate Authority. 11 a.m.: Dealing With Your Current Employees. Noon-5 p.m.: Dealing With Your Ex-Employees. 5-5:15 p.m.: Brotherly Love, Meditation & Chanting.

Miramax Films founding brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein may think they've mellowed with age and success, but it's still pretty easy to get their goat. Sitting on the sun-drenched patio of the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills last Friday, the Weinsteins were beaming, having just read the morning's glowing reviews of their new release, "Shakespeare in Love."

Warner/Chappell, the music publishing arm of Warner Music Group, has acquired the copyrights of film scores from hundreds of Miramax movies, including "Good Will Hunting," "The Cider House Rules," "Gangs of New York" and "Finding Neverland. " Terms of the deal, announced Tuesday morning, were not disclosed. The acquisition includes the publishing rights as well as the master recordings of scores in Miramax's entire catalog of more than 700 films. "The digital age continues to create new ways for music to be licensed, whether it's on YouTube, games or TV shows," Cameron Strang, chairman of Warner/Chappell, said in an interview.

Following a bloody scene near the conclusion of "Scream 4," the character played by the horror franchise veteran Neve Campbell turns to series newcomer Emma Roberts and self-referentially cautions her to not mess with the original, though she uses cruder language to express her displeasure. The question this weekend is whether fans of the first three films also might feel that the new thriller tramples on the "Scream" legacy. It's been 11 years since "Scream 3" arrived in theaters, and franchises don't normally relaunch themselves after such a long hiatus.

Harvey Weinstein vowed he would return to the glory days atop the independent film business, and Sunday night he delivered on that promise. After Weinstein Co. nearly shut down last year, the New York studio's low-cost British drama "The King's Speech" took top honors at this year's Academy Awards, the first best picture victory for the movie impresario since 2002. As when "Shakespeare in Love" defeated "Saving Private Ryan" in 1999, Weinstein's movie prevailed over an early favorite from a big Hollywood studio, in this case Sony Pictures' film about Facebook, "The Social Network.

Harvey and Bob Weinstein's bid to reclaim Miramax Films, the pioneering independent studio they founded in 1979, has been thwarted at the last minute. In a major blow to the brothers, whose own movie studio Weinstein Co. is facing financial problems, their negotiations with Miramax owner Walt Disney Co. broke down Friday, the same day that the Burbank media giant hoped final deal points would be worked out and long-running talks would come to a conclusion, according to three people familiar with the situation.

If Miramax was the house that Quentin Tarantino built, is Weinstein Co. the house that Tarantino will save? That answer may become clearer next weekend when the director's 153-minute, campy World War II action movie "Inglourious Basterds," starring Brad Pitt, opens. A lot more than the fate of the free world is riding on whether Tarantino's renegade soldiers succeed in their mission to kill Hitler. A hit could give Bob and Harvey Weinstein some much needed breathing room and perhaps quiet -- at least temporarily -- speculation that their production company is on the ropes.

Looking to beef up its stock of movies, Showtime on Monday entered into a seven-year deal with Weinstein Co., a producer of independent films. The pay cable channel has been searching for a source of films since April when it failed to renew deals with its longtime suppliers Paramount Pictures, MGM and Lions Gate. Showtime had demanded that the studios accept substantially lower movie license fees, so the three studios instead decided to strike out on their own and launch a movie channel.

While one brother entertained Hollywood's A-list at a pre-Oscar bash in Beverly Hills for his art-house movie "Chocolat," the younger sibling was holed up in a lower Manhattan office poring over marketing details for the release of his family adventure film "Spy Kids." Bob Weinstein, the one who skipped the party, was making sure that the $36-million James-Bond-for-kids action feature would become another lucrative franchise for his 7-year-old Dimension Films.

The starry Thursday-night premiere of "Scream 3"--said to be the last in the series that redefined the horror genre by infusing it with clever, tongue-in-cheek humor--was something akin to a graduation ceremony for cast members and director Wes Craven. "It's definitely a bittersweet experience," said Neve Campbell, who has played heroine Sidney Prescott in all three films. "These movies have been so much fun and I'm going to miss working with Wes and Courteney and David."

Peter Abrams, the producer of "Underclassman," says his movie was caught in the "Weinstein-Disney buzz saw." He's hardly alone. Over the next three months, Miramax Films, founded and operated by brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, will release at least 10 movies, including seven films that have been gathering dust on the studio's shelves for up to four years.

No longer able to rely on the hefty allowance supplied by Walt Disney Co., Miramax Film Corp. co-founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein announced financial alliances Thursday that they said would help jump-start their new entertainment venture. During a conference call with reporters at the Cannes International Film Festival, the brothers said investment banking house Goldman, Sachs & Co. had agreed to help finance their emerging enterprise, now called Weinstein Co.